There are a wide variety of known heat exchangers wherein fluids flow between plates to effect the desired heat transfer. Where high volume applications are involved, usually flat plates can be employed; however, use of such flat plates for volume purposes represents a sacrifice of the heat transfer abilities of the device.
In order to enhance the heat transfer characteristics of these types of devices, it is known to put some type of obstruction between the plates to cause the fluids to take a sinuous path therebetween. These obstructions are often in the form of a honeycomb structure which inherently have several problems. First, in the direction of flow there is usually a straight path through the heat exchanger thereby defeating the purpose of the obstructions. In addition, the sharp bends and corners in the honeycomb structure can create undesirable dead spots within the heat exchanger and also represent weak points or areas of deleterious stress concentration in the structure which, upon heating and cooling, will often crack.
In short, there is no prior art compact heat exchanger which can efficiently effect heat transfer through a structurally sturdy device.